Understanding why people attack them helps fire-fighters to cope with rising abuse and violence whilst on duty.
This is the finding of Ms Vivienne Brunsden and colleagues from the Emergency Services Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University presented their findings at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Dublin on April 2.
The Fire Brigades Union recently reported that attacks on their members are increasing. At present, most fire and rescue services have their own policies to minimise attacks on crews. These include engaging with youth groups, dedicated training to deal with conflict, protection of crews using CCTV cameras and practical measures including shatter-proof glass on fire appliances. New legislation was brought in the whole of the UK to protect emergency service workers from being obstructed but this has had little impact on attacks so far.
This study explored the experiences and impact on fire-fighters and control room staff who had been victims of violence or abuse at the hands of the public. The research was carried out at a particular fire and rescue service that historically had problems with attacks. The researchers lived on site at a fire station and carried out a series of interviews with participants from all levels of the organisation.
It was clear from the data that the fire-fighters had a good understanding of why this happens. They were able to categorise different reasons behind the behaviour such as panic, fear, alcohol and age to differentiate between intentional and unintentional abuse.
The ability to ascribe meaningful motivations to the attacks was seen as extremely important in terms of the psychological and emotional impact. By attaching motivations to their attackers they were more able to view this objectively. However, they did feel there was a complex connection between the attacks and arson.
Interestingly, disagreement existed between the management and staff over the frequency of attacks and how these should be reported.
Ms Brunsden said: "The rising number of attacks on fire-fighters is a major cause for concern. It is unthinkable that they can be in physical danger when carrying out their service. Understanding the motivations of the perpetrators helps them appreciate other factors that may lead to this unacceptable behaviour. For this reason, and to try and educate those responsible, more research is needed in this area."
